To get things working, you should:

1. Log into your Media Temple (dv) control panel.
2. Navigate to the domain and click the “Crontab” icon.
3. Click “Schedule a Task”
4. Configure the time and frequency of the CRON to any way you’d like.
5. Set the “command” value to:

   wget http://12.23.56.78/wp-cron.php

6. Replace the fake IP in the command above with the IP address of your website.

That’s all! Hitting the wp-cron.php file with the CRON will ensure you database backups and other scheduled tasks will run at proper intervals!

Fix WordPress CRONs on Media Temple (dv) Servers is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.

# Mod Rewrite
Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]

The fix to this problem was to add the following directive before my mod_rewrite directives:

#Fix Rewrite
Options -Multiviews

Tada! The URLs began working and the website’s SEO has taken off!

Fixing mod_rewrite and .htaccess on GoDaddy Hosting is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.

I just got the worst news of my life:

Dear Yahoo! GeoCities customer,

We’re writing to let you know that Yahoo! GeoCities, our free web site building service and community, is closing on October 26, 2009.

On October 26, 2009, your GeoCities site will no longer appear on the Web, and you will no longer be able to access your GeoCities account and files.

Well…not the worst news in my life but Geocities was my first sandbox and I owe a lot of my HTML/CSS web growth to my free Geocities account. Too bad Yahoo! eventually bought it out and drove it into the ground. There will always be a need for free hosting providers for young web experimenters and GeoCities was just that for a lot of us.

Did you “grow up” on Geocities like I did? Share your experience!

Important Notice: GeoCities is Closing. is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.

$URL='https://www.paypal.com';
$ch = curl_init();
echo 'URL = $URL <br>n';
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_VERBOSE, 1);
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPPROXYTUNNEL, TRUE);
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_PROXYTYPE, CURLPROXY_HTTP);
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_PROXY,'http://proxy.shr.secureserver.net:3128');
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, FALSE);
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $URL);
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, 120);
$result = curl_exec ($ch);
echo '<hr><br>n';
echo 'Errors: ' . curl_errno($ch) . ' ' . curl_error($ch) . '<br><br>';
echo '<hr><br>n';
curl_close ($ch);
print 'result - $result';
echo '<hr><br>n';

The problem is that since I’m not using SSL in this instance, I don’t need to use the following cURL option:

curl_setopt($ch,CURLOPT_HTTPPROXYTUNNEL, true);

Remember that if you receive this error from GoDaddy’s server. Hopefully I save someone a bunch of time with this.

GoDaddy, cURL, HTTP, and 403 Errors is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.

Connecting to Microsoft SQL Server 2005 from PHP

// the "driver" first
$virtual_dsn = 'DRIVER={SQL Server};SERVER=database.domain.org,45277;DATABASE=MyDatabase';
$connection = odbc_connect($virtual_dsn,'Username','Password') or die('ODBC Error:: '.odbc_error().' :: '.odbc_errormsg().' :: '.$virtual_dsn);

Choose Which Database

odbc_exec($connection,'USE MYDB');

Executing a Query

$result = odbc_exec($connection, 'SELECT FirstName FROM Names');

Using the Query Result

$first_name = odbc_result($result, 'FirstName')

Querying Tables and Columns with Spaces

// use brackets [] for tables and colums with spaces
$result = odbc_exec($connection, 'SELECT [First Name] FROM [Names Table]');

Like I said, while this isn’t the most desirable setup in the world, it will do. Big ups to Hostway for their help in configuring the server; they provided everything we needed.

To learn more about the ODBC functions, visit PHP.net

PHP, Microsoft SQL Server (MSSQL), and IIS: Connect and Query with ODBC is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.

The Bash Script

whois cnn.com

The above gathers information about CNN’s domain, cnn.com.

The Output

Whois Server Version 2.0

Domain names in the .com and .net domains can now be registered
with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net
for detailed information.

   Server Name: CNN.COM.MORE.INFO.AT.WWW.BEYONDWHOIS.COM
   IP Address: 203.36.226.2
   Registrar: TUCOWS INC.
   Whois Server: whois.tucows.com
   Referral URL: http://domainhelp.opensrs.net

   Server Name: CNN.COM.IS.0WN3D.BY.GULLI.COM
   IP Address: 80.190.192.39
   Registrar: EPAG DOMAINSERVICES GMBH
   Whois Server: whois.enterprice.net
   Referral URL: http://www.enterprice.net

   Domain Name: CNN.COM
   Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC.
   Whois Server: whois.networksolutions.com
   Referral URL: http://www.networksolutions.com
   Name Server: TWDNS-01.NS.AOL.COM
   Name Server: TWDNS-02.NS.AOL.COM
   Name Server: TWDNS-03.NS.AOL.COM
   Name Server: TWDNS-04.NS.AOL.COM
   Status: clientTransferProhibited
   Updated Date: 25-jul-2008
   Creation Date: 22-sep-1993
   Expiration Date: 21-sep-2017

>>> Last update of whois database: Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:50:40 EDT <<<

NOTICE: The expiration date displayed in this record is the date the
registrar's sponsorship of the domain name registration in the registry is
currently set to expire. This date does not necessarily reflect the expiration
date of the domain name registrant's agreement with the sponsoring
registrar.  Users may consult the sponsoring registrar's Whois database to
view the registrar's reported date of expiration for this registration.

TERMS OF USE: You are not authorized to access or query our Whois
database through the use of electronic processes that are high-volume and
automated except as reasonably necessary to register domain names or
modify existing registrations; the Data in VeriSign Global Registry
Services' ("VeriSign") Whois database is provided by VeriSign for
information purposes only, and to assist persons in obtaining information
about or related to a domain name registration record. VeriSign does not
guarantee its accuracy. By submitting a Whois query, you agree to abide
by the following terms of use: You agree that you may use this Data only
for lawful purposes and that under no circumstances will you use this Data
to: (1) allow, enable, or otherwise support the transmission of mass
unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations via e-mail, telephone,
or facsimile; or (2) enable high volume, automated, electronic processes
that apply to VeriSign (or its computer systems). The compilation,
repackaging, dissemination or other use of this Data is expressly
prohibited without the prior written consent of VeriSign. You agree not to
use electronic processes that are automated and high-volume to access or
query the Whois database except as reasonably necessary to register
domain names or modify existing registrations. VeriSign reserves the right
to restrict your access to the Whois database in its sole discretion to ensure
operational stability.  VeriSign may restrict or terminate your access to the
Whois database for failure to abide by these terms of use. VeriSign
reserves the right to modify these terms at any time.

The Registry database contains ONLY .COM, .NET, .EDU domains and
Registrars.NOTICE AND TERMS OF USE: You are not authorized to access or query ou
r WHOIS
database through the use of high-volume, automated, electronic processes. The
Data in Network Solutions' WHOIS database is provided by Network Solutions for i
nformation
purposes only, and to assist persons in obtaining information about or related
to a domain name registration record. Network Solutions does not guarantee its a
ccuracy.
By submitting a WHOIS query, you agree to abide by the following terms of use:
You agree that you may use this Data only for lawful purposes and that under no
circumstances will you use this Data to: (1) allow, enable, or otherwise support

the transmission of mass unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations
via e-mail, telephone, or facsimile; or (2) enable high volume, automated,
electronic processes that apply to Network Solutions (or its computer systems).
The
compilation, repackaging, dissemination or other use of this Data is expressly
prohibited without the prior written consent of Network Solutions. You agree not
 to use
high-volume, automated, electronic processes to access or query the WHOIS
database. Network Solutions reserves the right to terminate your access to the W
HOIS
database in its sole discretion, including without limitation, for excessive
querying of the WHOIS database or for failure to otherwise abide by this policy.

Network Solutions reserves the right to modify these terms at any time.

Get a FREE domain name registration, transfer, or renewal with any annual hostin
g package.

http://www.networksolutions.com

Registrant:
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
   One CNN Center
   13N
   Atlanta, GA 30303
   US

   Domain Name: CNN.COM

   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Promote your business to millions of viewers for only $1 a month
   Learn how you can get an Enhanced Business Listing here for your domain name.

   Learn more at http://www.NetworkSolutions.com/
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Administrative Contact:
      Manager, Domain Name              tmgroup@turner.com
      TBS Legal Department
      One CNN Center
      13 North
      Atlanta, GA 30348
      US
      404-827-3470 fax: 404-827-1995

   Technical Contact:
      Server Operations, TBS            hostmaster@tbsnames.turner.com
      One CNN Center
      Atlanta, GA 30348
      US
      4048275000 fax: 4048271593

   Record expires on 23-Sep-2017.
   Record created on 22-Sep-1993.
   Database last updated on 26-Jul-2008 23:47:49 EDT.

   Domain servers in listed order:

   TWDNS-01.NS.AOL.COM
   TWDNS-02.NS.AOL.COM
   TWDNS-03.NS.AOL.COM
   TWDNS-04.NS.AOL.COM

Not as pretty as some WHOIS searches but it gets me the information I need, including:

• Nameservers - Gives me direction as to who is hosting the domain's website.
• Registrar
• Expiration date
• Administrative contact information

I couldn't do my job without the above information and Cygwin makes it easy!

WHOIS Searches Using Cygwin’s whois is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.

This is clearly not the name of Amazon’s server, but I have no idea how this comes about. This site found the same thing and mentions that “The response back was any domain with Amazon.com in the name.” Not the most precise of answers but what an odd thing to stumble upon.

Amazon.Com WHOIS = WTF? is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.

Click here to jump over to Jeremy’s blog to check out the article!

Know Your Environment: PHP Server Module Reporter is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.

One gangsta policy used by many domain registrars is to hold on to a domain for months after its expiration for “convenience and security purposes.” Sure. Right. Uh huh.

One such registrar is the shady corporation called Network Solutions. Network Solutions is as evil of a domain registrar as there is. We’ve seen much evidence of that within the past few months.

I’ve had a keen eye on the domain DAVID-WALSH.COM for quite a while. Week after week, every WHOIS lookup I made resulted in a “Pending Deletion” message. I’d only been checking about once a week so as not arouse too much attention from NetSol.

Last week, the domain was finally cut free. It only took a few months. Anyways, the domain is now mine, all mine!

Have you had any issue with Network Solutions, or am I the only one? Share your experience.

Freeeeeedoooooooooooom!! is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.

Having created over 100 websites for my current employer, I’ve “worked” with probably close to 50 different hosting companies. I use the term “worked” with loosely because a majority of the hosting companies have been incompetent, showing no regard for their customers and accepting no responsibility for sub par hosting and uptime. Before launching a website, we generally move our customers to a host we prefer and know we can work well with.

I’ve created a checklist for choosing the right web host for a project and wanted to share it with fellow web developers. Ordered by importance, the checklist is as follows.

1. Does the business offer 24/7 PHONE support?

“Phone” is capitalized for a reason. Lack of phone support is becoming more and more common. Many hosting companies prefer to stick with email for a few reasons:

• They don’t have to hire as many persons for their tech support center
• Speaking with someone via email takes the human element out of support, so it’s much easier to tell someone “your problem, not ours”
• They can outsource their support without appearing to do so
• They can take longer to provide support — a phone call would require an immediate resolution to the problem

DO NOT choose a web host that does not offer complete phone technical support.

2. Is hosting the business’ primary service?

Many small business get suckered by their ISP into also using their hosting services — terrible idea. ISPs generally have enough customers (especially cable companies like Charter and Comcast) that losing one means absolutely nothing to them, especially if hosting is cheap. Stay away from companies that claim to perform too many services — that usually means that their techs aren’t solely focused on hosting support.

3. Is the host flexible in its server types, supported languages, and features?

If I had a dollar for every time a host told me that they couldn’t add a PHP/PEAR library or wouldn’t allow mod_rewrite, I’d be a rich man. Projects don’t always go as planned and flexibility within your web host is a key component in picking where the site will live. Flexibility generally means a slightly higher price; pay it, because you may pay a steeper price if you don’t.

4. Does the host keep customers informed about server maintenance, new services, etc.?

True story. On Tuesday, November 7, 2007, a customer called and told me that their website was down. Sure enough, I typed in their URL and saw nothing but a MySQL error on the screen. I called the host (which I will keep un-named…here) and the verbal tango went as follows:

Me: Hello, my customer’s website appears to be down and showing only a MySQL error.

Tech: Ah, yes, we disabled MySQL throughout all of our servers.

Me: Excuse me?

Tech: We had a security audit and so many peoples’ databases were getting injected due to insecure code that we decided to disable MySQL.

Me: Neither myself or my customer received any sort of warning that this was going to happen.

Tech: Right, we didn’t have time to do so. We did, however, schedule enough tech persons today to deal with the fallout. Let me enable MySQL for your account again.

I started a hosting transfer the next day.

5. Does the host provide an easy, functional control panel?

A hosting control panel is an absolute must when choosing a host. Some hosts use third party control panels like Plesk or cPanel, some have their own custom control panel (GoDaddy and Dream host, for example). Without an adequate control panel, you could find yourself at the mercy of a slow tech support staff just to make a basic change.

The above questions are the most important to ask yourself before choosing a host. Others include:

• Where, physically, is the host located? Down the block or across the country?
• Do they provide adequate space and bailboxes/forwarders for email?
• Is tech support outsourced to foreign countries?
• Can you get a direct phone number to a tech support person you trust?
• Can you connect to the database using a desktop application?

Don’t Be Fooled By Numbers

Hosts do a number of a things to fool a prospective client, such as:

• Provide boat loads of bandwidth and disk space — if you don’t need TB’s of bandwidth, don’t be impressed by the number.
• Twenty 9′s of uptime. All hosts promise 99.9999999% uptime. Why? Because nothing binds them to that number. You can’t sue them if your site isn’t up that percentage, so they can promise anything.
• Cite “rate-a-host” websites that say that have high approval ratings. Most “rate-a-host” websites are loaded with affiliate links which tells you they only recommend hosts to get a percentage of YOUR money.
• Dirt cheap pricing. When it comes to web hosting, you usually get what you pay for.

So Who’s Good?

In my experience, the following web hosts make the cut:

• DreamHost – I host my blog with DreamHost. Very flexible, easy to use control panel, and a “Call Back” feature for speaking with technical support. I’ve created a $50 off DreamHost Hosting coupon for my readers.
• GoDaddy – Best phone support system I’ve ever experienced. Expect 24/7 technical support from domestic employees — not outsourcing. Also a great price. Note: mod_rewrite can cause problems on GoDaddy due to Fast-CGI. If SEF links are a must, call GoDaddy first to see if they can help with mod_rewrite.
• CrystalTech – CrystalTech has been nothing but helpful and reliable in my experience with the company. (mostly Windows-based hosting)
• Supranet – A Madison, WI host that specializes in hosting for medium to large businesses.
• RackSpace – Pricey but solid hosting and support.

So Who’s Bad?

I wont be using these hosts again:

• Charter / Comcast / TDS – Cable companies shouldn’t legally be allowed to offer web hosting.
• CoreComm – Another ISP that provides sub par, unreliable web hosting
• Cedant – Consistently sliding down-hill in the support department
• Infinology – Once took 45 minutes on the phone with a person to cancel my account.

There you have it — my hosting guidelines in a nutshell. Please note that we only put our customers on GoDaddy hosting. All of my poor experiences with hosting providers is due solely to inheriting old websites and trying to either maintain the hosting or move them away from the old host.

Lastly, note that I ripped “rate-a-host” websites for trying to collect referral money and then I referred to my DreamHost coupon. In the interest of full disclosure, I do get a small sum from that referral. You will, however, note that this website is hosted on DreamHost, so I’m not simply trying to collect a referral. I wouldn’t host on DreamHost if I didn’t like their service.

Tips for Choosing The Right Web Host is a post from: David Walsh :: Legendary scribbles about JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, PHP, CSS, and ∞.